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Developing a Personal Brand as the Jack of All Trades

June 7, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

At some point in your career or during your job search, you must have been asked the famous interview question, “Tell me about yourself.” If you often respond to such questions with “I’m great at solving problems” or “I’m a good leader who others can depend on in all situations,” this article will help you better understand and developing your personal brand so that you can send the right message to those who are considering you for a job or make a strong impression on those who are meeting you for the first time.

Being the “Jack or Jill of all trades” does not automatically make you “master of none,” although in most cases, it’s unlikely that you’re an expert in one particular area. But that’s what makes you unique, and you can be among the most valuable members of your team or company. And this begins with you taking full ownership of your unique position, and clearly brand yourself as one who is approachable and resourceful.

5 Ways to Establish Yourself as an Expert in Your Field

May 31, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Patrick Sweet, P.Eng., MBA, PMP, CSEP

No matter what your particular engineering discipline or industry, there is immense value in establishing yourself as an expert. In both Seth Godin’s “Linchpin” and Cal Newport’s “So Good They Can’t Ignore You,” very compelling cases are made for why someone should strive to become an expert in their field. To be the go-to person for a given subject is not only incredibly gratifying, it also provides excellent job security and flexibility.

While it may be clear that becoming an expert is extremely valuable, it’s less clear how to go about becoming an expert.

In this post, I’ll offer five concrete strategies you can use to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Six Effective Ideas for Employee Engagement

May 24, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Jessica Robinson

Your organization’s success is undoubtedly the number one aspiration you hold close to your heart. One of the most fundamental requirements for this aspiration to come true is support from your workforce. Your employees are the building blocks of your company. Without them taking the initiative for your organization’s success, your company cannot prosper.

But what does it take to get such support from your employees? Well, it’s merely their emotional connection to your company. If your employees are emotionally connected to your organization, they are naturally inclined toward ensuring the best for it. Further, employee engagement is a business strategy to help your employees get emotionally involved in your company.

Here Are Six Useful Ideas for Employee Engagement:

What Makes You YOU?

May 17, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

What do you want to be known for as a professional? Call it personal branding if that phrase means something to you. What do you want your peers, bosses, clients, and professional associates to say about you?

How can you stand out from the crowd? What differentiates you from your professional associates?

For seven years, I did the kickoff session for a future leaders program for the Georgia chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies. Participants were young engineers with a few years on the job. We could have anywhere from 25 to 50 in the room.

I always asked them to tell me about their company. Every one of them said something along the lines of “we’re the best . . .” Basically, they all said the same thing — engineering and technical skills.

Then I’d ask what differentiates their firm from others in the room. Silence.

Let’s take that to the individual level. What makes you YOU? What do you want people to remember about you?

Here are some ideas to get you thinking about yourself.

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Find Your Genius Zone: The Ultimate Personal Brand

May 10, 2021 By EMI

This is a blog by Jeff Perry, MBA

Personal branding is getting more and more attention as a piece of building our careers, yet many people ignore it or do not even know what it is. Whether you do it intentionally or not, you are putting off a personal brand — but is it the one that you want to have?

Let us dive deeper into how you can take charge and help others perceive you in the way you want to be known.

What Is a Personal Brand?

Put simply, a personal brand is how you promote yourself. It’s the amount of “who you are” that you allow the world to see. It’s your opportunity to tell your story and differentiate yourself from others.

An easy way to think about a personal brand is to imagine a simple Venn diagram. In one circle are all of the attributes, skills, personality traits, interests, and experiences that you have. In the other circle are all of the ways you show that to other people — online, in a resume, on LinkedIn, personal websites, and more. The intersection of the two circles is your personal brand — how much people actually see of who you truly are.

3 Steps to Building an Accountability System for Your Engineering Career

May 6, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by Nader Mowlaee

Career success and growth comes to us when we accept responsibility for our actions, our wins, and our failures. This is because what we put into our career, from education to continuous learning, training, and certifications, dictates what we get out of task accomplishments, project achievements, and daily performance. We begin to notice that no one else but ourselves controls the power of success by taking full ownership of our consistent everyday actions, positive thoughts, and constructive energy.

Taking full ownership for building an accountability system for your engineering career is a powerful thing because there is no way to go back and fix the mistakes you made or change your career choice. However, at one point, you will discover that to change your engineering career trajectory, you will have to make changes to your daily routine and build an accountability system to guarantee those changes will remain in place for as long as it takes for them to become habits.

Here Are Three Tips for Building an Accountability System for Your Engineering Career:

Who Will Win the Talent Standoff?

May 3, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Peter C. Atherton, P.E. that was previously posted here.

Playing to win requires a real investment in organizational redesign, along with the creation of both a vision and a culture that are worth the work.

The Standoff

The standoff is between younger talents’ needs and older talents’ interest and ability to engage and develop them. It’s the future versus a non-functional or sustainable status quo.

To succeed, we need to reimagine work in the context of today’s actual constraints and the reality of a forever-changed world.

The Problem

Organizationally, too many of us are in the functional shape of an hourglass.

We have little “middle,” and what we do have continues to be overloaded and piling up with pressure moving upward instead of downward in the organization where more capacity exists.

Why You Need a Coach

April 26, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Mickey Addison, MSCE, PMP

I need a coach. Anyone can trudge through a task or lesson on their own, but if I truly want to get better, I’m in need of a coach.

I’ve been an athlete all my life. I started soccer at age 6, baseball at age 8, and I lettered in both football and track in high school. Attending a senior military college and then entering the Air Force afterward meant intramural sports, physical training, and annual physical fitness tests from the age of 18 until my retirement from the service in 2017. Of course, we lead active lives in our house as well: hiking, cycling, CrossFit, surfing. Well, you get the idea. I’m not a couch potato.

The reason for that self-absorbed preamble is to establish that at 55 years, I’m not a novice to physical fitness or the gym — and despite all that experience, I STILL need a coach!

Successful People Are Lifelong Learners

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Be a Better You

April 19, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott

The people who read this blog are educated, experienced problem-solving professionals, and, I’m assuming, really smart. That is what my 15+ years of working with engineers has taught me.

However, for many of those engineers, their confidence wanes when it comes to non-technical knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Does the idea of public speaking give you the shakes? Do you dread having to go to network events, even virtual ones? How much do you enjoy managing people, especially the difficult ones? Are you excited about business development and finding new work?

If you aren’t as confident about those skills as you are about technical knowledge and skills, read on. Here are two steps you can take to conquer your fears and become a better you.

[Read more…] about Be a Better You

How to Become an Effective Engineering Leader

April 12, 2021 By EMI

This is a guest post by George J. Newton

It can be challenging to transition from being a great engineer into a position of leadership. While your technical knowledge and skills are essential to the execution of your role, being in a position of leadership also necessitates a range of non-technical skills. Here are four key principles to help you become an effective engineering leader, one who can not only achieve results, but also lead and inspire teams.

1. Understand Your Team’s Needs

Management positions require that you understand your team’s day-to-day job and develop empathy. The more you can understand your team’s individual journeys and experiences, the better placed you can be to support them to meet their goals and needs. Importantly, this will help you to ensure that they are not only engaged with the work, but that they are also being productive.

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